When fleas infest your home, they can get everywhere; in fact, any place your dog or cat frequents, fleas will be present. Carpets, rugs and upholstered furniture are especially vulnerable to infestation. Adult fleas jump from animals to these surfaces and lay eggs. These eggs hatch as larvae that can get caught in carpet fibers, creating an on-going problem.

Vacuuming and steam cleaning carpets and rugs will help, but there are natural treatments that can be even more effective.

One of these treatments is safe and uses a common everyday substance – salt. Yes, you can get rid of fleas with salt! The salt acts as a dehydration agent and dries out the bodies of the fleas.

How to kill fleas using salt: Obtain some highly refined household salt or sea salt. Make sure it is as finely ground as possible, almost to a powder consistency. Sprinkle it lightly but evenly over your carpet. Brush or rake it in. Leave this in your carpet for 12 to 48 hours, then vacuum thoroughly.

Salt can attract moisture, so do not leave it in for very long in very hot or humid conditions. Otherwise, you’ll end up with salty, wet carpet.

For serious infestations, salt can be mixed together with boric acid. This chemical is found in a number of commercially-available products, such as Borax. Use the same technique as with refined salt; however, check with the carpet manufacturer to make sure your carpet can withstand boric acid. While boric acid is generally non-toxic, long-term, low-level exposure to boric acid can cause some health conditions in humans and pets, so this treatment should not be used frequently.

The accompanying video explains more about how to get rid of fleas with salt.